Evangelion: Exorcism
by Akodo Tim
Summary: Third Impact has failed. Now the Children must battle a sinister enemy and their own personal demons. Chapter 5 up; please R
1. Prologue: In the House of the Lord

_Disclaimer:_ All characters originally appearing in Neon Genesis: Evangelion contained in this fiction are copyright GAINAX, Project EVA, Movic, AD Vision and Manga Entertainment and are used without permission. 

_Acknowledgements:_ I would like to thank those of you who have taken the time to help out a humble newbie fanfic writer with your past and future comments and suggestions. Keep the feedback coming; I appreciate it all. Flames, on the other hand, will have to wait until my D-type equipment arrives. ^_^

Special thanks go out to my prereaders: Slicknfly, Badges2, and my darling wife Carrie. This is dedicated to my sons Curtis, Brendan and Travis - we'll watch the shows together when you're a little older, guys; it's worth the wait.

**Evangelion: Exorcism**

By Akodo Tim

**Prologue: In the House of the Lord**

"So he called unto him all his officers, and all his nobles, and communicated with them his secret counsel, and concluded the afflicting of the whole earth out of his own mouth."

_- Judith 2:2_

 * * *

_Saint Teresa's Basilica, Nova Jerusalem_

_June 22, 2015_

The darkened hallways of the basilica were silent, as they always were at this early hour of the morning. Statues and artwork depicting God and his Creation adorned the marble walls, hidden by the deep shadows cast by the faint moonlight shining through the windows.

A slender robed figure strode briskly through the corridors, paying no attention to the trappings of over two millennia of faith surrounding him. His legs screamed for rest, but his mission could not be delayed by mere weakness of the flesh; he was bearing a message from God.

His Holiness needed to hear it - now.

Only when he approached the ornate gilded doors did he slow down. He rested his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath, forcing air into his asthmatic lungs. The years spent in service to his Holiness were not kind to Samuel, yet his services were the least he could offer in exchange for rescue from the holocaust of the Second Impact. In return for salvation, he willingly offered his body and soul. It had been a good trade, really.

As Samuel reached for the doors, they slowly, silently opened, as if cringing away from his touch. Drawing himself up, he walked reverently into the chamber beyond. The doors quietly entombed him inside the darkness as they closed behind him. The robed man walked a dozen paces before he stopped, bowed his head, and knelt on the stone floor.

Samuel waited there, motionless. The absolute blackness of the room seemed to swallow his senses until only the beating of his heart and his soft breathing filled his ears. Seconds stretched to minutes; minutes, hours. After what felt like an eternity, a dazzling white light flared in front of him. He sat unflinching, eyes downcast, until he heard the command out of the darkness.

"Rise, Samuel."

The Voice, deep and rolling like thunder yet as piercing as a trumpet's clarion call, seemed to be coming from everywhere and yet from nowhere at once. It surrounded him, echoed around him, reverberated through him. Samuel raised his gaze to the gigantic white cross that now towered before him, illuminated by a brilliant light shining down from somewhere above. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the glare.

"What news, my child?"

Samuel breathed deeply. "Your Holiness, I bring an urgent message from Judas."

"Proceed."

"He reports that one of the harbingers has been chosen by the Marduk Institute and is scheduled for immediate testing."

"Intriguing. Which one?"

"Nathaniel."

A pause. "This is unexpected. Fortunate, but unexpected. So, NERV has designated him as the Fourth Child, then?"

"In all but name. They are still awaiting approval from the institute, but that is just a formality at this stage."

"That will come, in time. We have waited fifteen years; another few weeks will not matter. Does Judas have a timetable for the second phase?"

Samuel stared at the darkness above him, thinking. "He expects that that child will begin training next week if NERV and the institute keep to their timetables. If we allow two weeks for additional testing and synchronization, we can start the second phase in about a month. That is, if he is not rejected by the Ev-"

"Do not mention those abominations in my presence!" The humble man jumped as the Voice thundered around him. "Those vile monstrosities are an affront to God Himself! Mankind has brought about our Lord's wrath by believing himself equal to Him, yet now he tries to rise up against His emissaries to challenge His divine authority. We cannot let this blasphemy continue." The Voice paused, then spoke again, the anger from moments ago replaced by tenderness. "Remember Samuel: that is why we are here. The arrogance of Man shall be his own damnation and we shall be there to see him fall from grace as Lucifer did himself."

Samuel's lips curled into a smile. "And a little child shall lead them."

"Indeed." There was a hint of a smile behind the Voice. "What of Thaddeus?"

"His agents report much activity in Babel, though nothing significant relating to our plans. Oh, and they're still trying to part the Red Tape Sea, as they call it." Samuel's smile broadened. "Some things never change."

"Of course. Now, we have much to prepare for and precious little time. Arrange an emergency meeting with the rest of the Apostles to discuss the execution of the second phase. Keep me informed of any changes to our situation, no matter how insignificant they may seem."

Samuel rose to one knee and bowed deeply. "It shall be done, your Holiness. The Lord our God will we serve and his voice will we obey."

"Amen. Now go."

Samuel quickly rose to his feet and left the room, the doors silently closing after his rustling brown robes. After a moment, a whisper broke the oppressive silence.

"...And may God have mercy on our souls."

If anyone was there to hear it, they might have detected a touch of sadness.

The light above the cross faded, leaving the chamber in brooding darkness.

* * *

In the next chapter of Exorcism:

Things come to a head on the day of Third Impact, and the Children and the rest of NERV will never be the same again. Find out what's in store for them on the 'Day of Reckoning'!


	2. Day of Reckoning

Disclaimer and Acknowledgements: See Prologue.

**Evangelion: Exorcism**

By Akodo Tim

**Day of Reckoning**

"And the kings of the earth... shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,  
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come."

_- Revelation 18:9-10_

* * *

_Chamber of Lilith_

_Terminal Dogma, NERV Headquarters_

_January 01, 2016_

"Liar."

Doctor Ritsuko Akagi tossed the beeping remote aside, the display still showing Casper's denial of her final command. She stared down the barrel of Gendo's pistol, then smiled wistfully as she levelled her own sidearm at him.

_Damn you to Hell, Mother. I'll see you there._

Two shots rang out.

Ritsuko's body flew backward off the platform and landed with a splash in the LCL, her life's blood slowly mingling with the amber liquid. Gendo stood there for a moment with a tight-lipped smile on his face, the acrid smoke from his pistol wafting into the air. Then, slowly, he crumpled to the ground.

Behind him, Rei Ayanami watched everything with an impassionate gaze.

* * *

_Damn. I didn't think Ritsuko was such a good shot._

Gendo didn't need a doctor to tell him he was dying. His breath came in short, ragged gasps, each one forcing more blood out between his fingers to pool on the steel platform below.  Dimly, he was aware of a faint whispering in his ears.

_This is how it ends, then. Maybe it's better this way._

Visions of his son swam before his eyes in rapid succession. He saw Shinji crying on the station platform so many years ago, in front of Eva 01 on the day of Sachiel's attack, before Yui's grave, in Unit 01's entry plug screaming his hatred of him, and standing in his office in restraints.

_I deserve to die like this._

_All I've ever done is hurt you, Shinji. I'm sorry for everything._

He tried to take a deep breath as his vision faded. The whispering in his ears grew into a roar.

_Strange. I thought it would hurt more..._

Faintly, Gendo heard the sound of bare feet on the metal platform beside him. He felt someone kneel and gingerly remove his glasses. He turned his head, locking his fading gaze with hers.

"Rei...?"

Her features shifted slightly as his sight blurred.

_No._

He saw Yui looking back at him, smiling sadly, before the darkness claimed him.

* * *

_Outside NERV Headquarters_

The nine white Evas circled lazily overhead and ascended into the cerulean sky, resembling a flock of gigantic ivory vultures. One of them had spikes jutting through its head at grotesque angles, while another still had the blade of a progressive knife embedded in it. Several were missing limbs. Most of them still dripped whatever fluid passed for blood within them. All of them bore evidence of Asuka Sohryu's savage attack.

For all the good it did her.

Asuka lay in the darkness of her Eva's entry plug. Her body screamed in agony; she felt as if her skin had been flayed away. Her hand clutched her left eye, ruined when one of the Eva's spears punched through Unit 02's AT field. The internal power timer on her console flashed zero, mocking her.

_Cowards! I'm not going to let you beat me! Come back here, you bastards!_

As she feverishly, impotently worked her Eva's controls, all the pain, rage, and frustration in her mind focused themselves into a single, coherent thought:

_I'll kill you._

_I'll kill you!_

"I'll kill you!"

She clung to those three words, her mantra of rage and hatred.

_Help me, Momma!_

Deep from within the mauled Eva, the soul of Kyoko Sohryu answered her daughter's plea. Slowly, indicators shone on Asuka's console as system after system came back online. The eyes on the Eva's damaged head began to glow with a ghostly light. On her holographic display Asuka could see the Evas spiralling above her, silhouetted against the brilliant afternoon sun, as if riding a gigantic thermal. She clawed at the images, reaching out to them as if trying to grab them through the display and crush them between her fingers.

"I'll kill you!"

As if in response, Unit 02's mangled right arm raised itself in a grotesque parody of her own grasping hand.

_Yes! Momma will protect me!_

"I'll kill you!"

The Eva twisted and writhed on the ground, still pinned by the spear through its head.

"_I'll kill you!_"

She didn't hear Maya's strangled, sobbing voice on the comm, pleading with her to stop.

"_I'll kill you!_"

_Help me Momma, please! _

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

Asuka screamed as hideous, burning agony lanced through her arm. She caught a glimpse of the now-useless limb lying at her side, split lengthwise in two, before her world went white.

* * *

_Evangelion Cage 07_

"Shinji! Eva 02 is...! Asuka is...! Asuka is...!"

Maya's horrified screams echoed through the cavernous chamber, falling on Shinji Ikari's deaf ears. The boy sat huddled on the catwalk, staring at the titan encased in bakelite before him. Part of him wanted to climb inside the Eva's entry plug, to rise up to the surface and help Asuka; that notion was swiftly crushed by the realization that Unit 01 was still in cryostasis and couldn't move even if he could get inside. Part of him said it was already too late to help his fellow pilot. Most of him didn't care.

"No, I can't pilot Eva. I can't do anything."

As if in response to his self-loathing, the red crystalline prison surrounding Unit 01 shattered. Shinji reflexively brought his arm up to shield himself from the glassy shards flying everywhere. With a loud crash and the squeal of metal upon metal, the Eva's gigantic hand smashed into the wall, crushing the catwalk around him like tinfoil. Shinji lowered his arm and stared in amazement at the armored goliath in front of him, realizing what had caused its sudden activation.

"Mother..."

The enormous metal visage stared back at him in stony silence.

_Must I?_

The Eva's eyes lit up in response.

Shinji clambered up the giant's arm. The entry plug opened as he reached the shoulder, inviting him inside. He climbed in and placed the A-10 neural connectors on his head as the plug closed and filled with LCL.

As it filled his nostrils, the familiar coppery smell of the liquid reminded him of the taste of Misato's blood on his lips. He remembered her words to him before she kissed him and shoved him onto the lift:

"Find the answer to why you exist. Find the answer to why you came here. And when you're finished, come back..."

_Mother..._

_Watch over me like Asuka's did for her._

_Help me find the answer._

Unit 01 launched with a deafening crackle of static.

* * *

A deep rumble, far stronger and longer lasting than any of the shockwaves produced by the battle raging deep within the Geo-Front, shook the ground. It steadily grew in intensity, until the earth trembled violently and the soldiers assaulting the building struggled to stay on their feet.

The shattered pyramid of NERV's headquarters erupted in a fury of fire and smoke. A howling wind accompanied the chaos, darkening the sky and swirling wreckage and debris about in a vortex of destruction. In the center of it all, Evangelion Unit 01, its eyes glowing with hideous light, rose through the storm on fiery wings like an avenging angel.

To the troops far below, it was the harbinger of death.

The Spear of Longinus quivered above the Moon's surface, thousands of miles away.

The unleashed Eva soared into the sky and through the yawning hole that an N2 bomb had made above the Geo-Front hours before. As it climbed, Shinji sat listlessly in the entry plug, unsure as to how to face his destiny. Or even what his destiny was.

The spear's quaking grew stronger, as if in anticipation, until it shivered like a gigantic tuning fork.

Shinji looked down through the entry plug's display. Hundreds of feet below, Shinji could just pick out several figures milling about on the ground among the ruined trees. From this height they looked like mere toys, but judging by the sizes of the trees beside them they had to be Evas.

_Asuka!_

Was she still alive?

The thought of the fiery, auburn-haired girl being down there in mortal danger, perhaps already dead, spurred him into action.

"NO!"

The storm's fury grew as Unit 01 dove to the ground.

Above the Moon, the spear's movements grew weaker until it finally lay still.

* * *

_Outside NERV Headquarters_

The wounded giant on the ground twisted its head around and finally wrenched the lance through its head free of the ground. It raised its AT field as the remaining spears hurtled toward it; the field slowed them down just enough for the mangled behemoth to roll out of the way before they struck the earth where it was a split-second before. The Eva staggered to its feet and grasped the spear that protruded from its head. Slowly, it pulled on the shaft until the twin heads popped free with a sick, squelching sound.

Unit 02, free at last, looked up at the circling white Evas and bellowed its challenge. The spear in its left hand transformed itself into an enormous elliptical blade as the titan eagerly waited for the battle to begin again.

* * *

As Shinji plummeted earthward, he surveyed the scene rushing up to meet him. Asuka's Eva, barely recognizable with its bindings gone and mutilated internals exposed, grasped an oblong blade with its left hand and used it to frantically block blow after blow from one of the other white giants. Unit 02's right arm was split in two; a hole gaped in its head where the left side of its face would have been. Three dismembered white Evas lay on the ground around it, a spear or blade thrust through each of their cores. Another one, minus both its legs and one wing, flopped about almost comically in the mud by the lake. The other four slowly circled the duelists, perhaps searching for an opening. Shinji chose his target without hesitation and dove down upon it with a scream of rage.

The Eva fighting Asuka was so intent on its prey that it didn't see death plunging down on it until it was too late. Unit 01's hand thrust through its neck; the momentum of its dive threw both titans to the ground; trees and boulders were sent flying as the two combatants carved a massive divot in the earth. Shinji's Eva stood and yanked its hand free, savagely decapitating its adversary in the process. The remaining four white Evas, perhaps surprised by the arrival of the newcomer and the ferocity of its attack, retreated several steps. Unit 02 took the opportunity to plunge the blade it still carried through the chest of its crippled foe; the vanquished Eva's dummy plug was crushed in a spray of LCL. Shinji noticed with some concern that Asuka's video comm window still showed nothing but static.

_Five down, four to go._

_No time like the present._

Unit 01 grabbed the fallen Eva's blade and, with a chilling howl, charged its closest adversary. His target swung its own blade down in a massive overhand blow, but Shinji's Eva deflected it in a shower of sparks. The momentum from the charge carried the purple and green behemoth into its opponent in an earth-shattering tackle. They both went crashing to the ground, with Unit 01 on top. Shinji's Eva reached back, grabbed its prog knife from its shoulder mount, and plunged it into the struggling Eva's core. Sparks flew as the knife vibrated deep in the white Eva's chest; Shinji's opponent briefly thrashed about, then spasmed once and lay still.

Shinji glanced back and saw Unit 02, its right arm regenerated, trading a furious exchange of strikes and parries with yet another foe. As he watched, the white goliath stumbled on a fallen tree trunk. Asuka's Eva charged in, dodged the off-balance giant's clumsy thrust, then methodically severed one of its opponent's arms, sending the limb and the blade it carried tumbling into the lake. Unit 02 then reversed the stroke and impaled its foe through the back. A split-second later, it punched its fist into the white Eva's chest, pulled out its core, and brutally crushed it.

The remaining two Evas unfurled their wings and launched themselves into the sky; Unit 01 roared after them. As Shinji watched them go, Asuka's Eva sank to its knees beside him; it slumped over and ejected its mangled entry plug as the light in its remaining eyes faded.

* * *

_Chamber of Lilith_

"I am no longer your toy, Commander."

Rei kneeled, eyes downcast, next to Gendo's body. She folded his glasses and gently held them in her hands, ignoring the sticky blood smeared on them. A maelstrom of emotions rushed through her: pain; anger; betrayal; confusion; loss; emptiness. And fear.

_My reason for existence was to carry out your plans to complete the Instrumentality project. But now you are dead. Your task for me is finished; your dream died with you. Should I die as well? Do I still have a reason to exist?_

_I am the third. What will become of me when I am gone? Will another take my place?_

_No, I felt them die when Doctor Akagi destroyed them._

_That means I am also the last._

_Does that matter?_

She spied the gun still in Gendo's hand.

The glasses clattered to the floor. Her hands trembling, Rei pried the pistol from his nerveless fingers; it was heavier than it looked and still bore the warmth of his body. She turned it over in her hands, feeling its weight, then gripped it and placed the muzzle under her jaw. She could smell the faint, lingering aroma of gunpowder mixed with the scent of gun oil.

_I was expendable_. Rei closed her eyes; her finger tensed around the trigger. _Now I have no purpose._

_I was simply a body to house a soul._

_But..._

_I still carry that soul. Is it not still my responsibility?_

_There is nothing left to carry it once I die._

_What will happen to the soul if there is no body?_

Her finger trembled.

_If there is nowhere else for the soul to go, then am I really expendable?_

_I was. But now I am the last._

_If I die, I will not be replaced._

Rei's grip on the trigger relaxed slightly.

_Your task for me is over, Commander._

_Is there another one for me?_

_Am I needed now? By anyone?_

She released the trigger and opened her ruby eyes.

_Yes, there is another task._

_I am needed._

_Pilot Ikari needs me; I sense his anguish._

_Pilot Sohryu also needs me; I sense her pain as well._

_This soul also needs me; it must be nurtured and protected._

_This soul was entrusted to me._

_Is it not mine in spirit, then?_

_*My* soul needs me._

A rumble shook the cavernous chamber, briefly throwing Rei off balance. She looked up and watched as the bloated figure that was Lilith sagged forward, ripping its hands free from the cross in the process. It ponderously crashed into the liquid and disappeared under the surface. A wave of LCL engulfed the platform and washed over the blue-haired girl, briefly submerging her before receding. She wiped the honey-colored fluid from her eyes; when she opened them again, Gendo Ikari was gone. Rei sat down on the platform where his body used to lay, absently cradling the pistol in her hands.

_How ironic. I prayed to be returned to nothingness when you were controlling me. Now that you are no longer here, I do not wish to die. Now that I have a choice... I choose life._

"Farewell, Commander," Rei whispered. "Your journey is over. I must now find my own path." With a sudden surge of emotion, she hurled the gun away. It sailed in a graceful arc and sank into the LCL, an instrument of death claimed by the fluid of life.

Rei gazed out over the surface of the reservoir. For a very long time, the only sound in the chamber was the gentle lapping of the liquid against the platform as she sat there, contemplating her new freedom and her new life.

When the search team found her hours later, she was still sitting there, naked, like a puppet without strings.

* * *

In the next chapter of Exorcism:

The Children must come to grips with the aftermath of the attack, confront their own personal demons, and explore their 'Dreamscapes and Memories'. 


	3. Dreamscapes and Memories

Disclaimer and Acknowledgements: See Prologue.

**Evangelion: Exorcism**

By Akodo Tim

**Dreamscapes and Memories**

"When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;  
Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:  
So that my soul chooseth strangling, [and] death rather than my life."

_- Job 7:13-15_

* * *

_Room 110, First Cranial Nerve Ward_

_NERV Headquarters Hospital Wing_

_January 02, 2016_

Shinji stared at the broken body that lay on the bed beside his chair. Bandages covered her head and left eye as she slept in a drug-induced haze; strands of her copper hair peeked out between the cloth strips in places. Blood-stained dressings bound her right arm. A tangle of electrodes and wires ran from a bank of beeping machinery and instruments on the other side of the bed and disappeared under her hospital gown. Painkillers dripped steadily from an IV bag and disappeared into the tube leading to her wrist. Except for the bandages, Asuka looked just like she did two days ago...

Shinji's shaking hand clenched and flexed as he hung his head. He tried, with great difficulty, to push the memories of his last visit from his mind. Part of him, shameful of what he had become and unable to face her, wanted to get up and leave the frail-looking redhead behind, to throw everything away and never come back like he had done so many times before.

_That's what killed Misato. That's why Asuka's like this now. That's why so many people died yesterday._

The Third Child shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

_No. I mustn't run away. I owe it to her. I owe it to myself._

_But I hurt everyone I'm close to. I don't want that to happen anymore._

_I can't run away._

"Asuka-" Shinji's voice cracked as he said her name. He nervously cleared his throat and tried again.

"Asuka, it's... it's me; Shinji." He took a deep breath to compose himself. "The doctors said you might be able to hear me, so here I am. I know you must hate me for what happened, and I don't blame you. But, please, hear me out."

"First of all, I want to apologize for yesterday, for what it's worth. It's my fault you ended up like this. I should have helped you sooner. We should have fought those Evas together from the beginning, as a team." He paused for a moment, looking sadly at her bandaged face. "I let you down. I should be in that bed, not you. I'm sorry."

"At least everyone at headquarters says you're a hero." Shinji looked up at Asuka's face for some sign that she had heard the news; there was no response. He sighed. "Some people are saying you single-handedly saved everyone." The Third Child smiled. "At least you're getting the recognition you deserve."

Shinji took a deep breath and looked up at the all-too-familiar ceiling. "You know, it feels so empty at home. It's just me there now, now that Pen-pen's at Hikari's place and Misato's..." He left the sentence hanging. "You know, I even miss you calling me a perverted, stupid idiot every day."

"Misato's gone, Toji and Kensuke have moved away, and Rei..." Shinji's voice trailed off again. He took a breath and looked back at Asuka's bandaged face. "Now you're the only one I have left--but you're stuck here, and it's my fault..." 

Guilt, frustration, and anger welled up again inside Shinji in a storm of emotion. "Damn it, Asuka," he moaned, "You're all I have. I need you. I need you to make me feel like at least something's back to normal, to do something so I feel like I _exist_!" At that last word, Shinji leapt from the chair and bent over Asuka, grasping her arms. Gasping, the redhead winced in pain as he touched her.

_Oh God. I'm doing it again._

Seeing the Second Child in such discomfort stopped Shinji's tirade in its tracks; he jerked his hands away from her body as if he had been burned. The boy sank down into his chair again and stared down at his twitching hands.

One was bloody.

A harried-looking nurse knocked and poked her head around the door. "Is everything all right in here?" she asked.

Shinji sighed and nodded. "Everything's fine, ma'am," he mumbled.

The woman gave Shinji an incredulous look. "All right... but I'm here to remind you that visiting hours are almost over." She briskly turned and went back into the hallway, closing the door after her.

Shinji sat huddled in his chair in silence for a long while. Finally, he looked back to his fellow pilot. "Well, I guess I have to go." After a moment, Shinji reached into his bag and brought out a cloth-wrapped bento box. "I know this won't come close to making it up to you, but I hope it's a start; I know what hospital food is like." He placed it gently on her nightstand.

The Third Child stood up and walked to the door. As he grasped the handle, he turned back to Asuka's bed. "If it makes any difference," he said softly to the bandaged girl, "I'm glad you're still alive." He opened the door and quietly walked out.

The girl on the bed opened one electric blue eye after she heard the door close. She considered everything she had heard while she had been pretending to be asleep, then finally, after many long minutes, drifted off into a fitful slumber of her own.

* * *

_Just where the hell am I?_

Asuka gazed into the obscuring mists around her, trying to find some clue as to where she was. The swirling gray fog shrouded her vision, never letting her see more than five feet ahead of her, if at all. The ground under her feet was white, featureless, and absolutely flat.

"Hello?"

The mist swallowed her call without so much as an echo. If anyone did hear her, they didn't answer.

"Hello?" she called, louder this time.

Still no answer.

"Anybody?"

Silence.

"Hmph. Like I need anyone anyway."

With a toss of her hair, Asuka strode into the mist.

* * *

"This is stupid."

Time stood still as Asuka trudged through the featureless fogbank. Not a single thing had changed in the landscape surrounding her in all the time she had been moving; she could have been walking in place the whole time for all she knew.

"Why am I wasting my time?"

As if in response, Asuka noticed a faint shimmering in the air ahead of her. As she watched, it grew in size and brightness until it looked vaguely human-shaped, though a little taller then the Eva pilot. Asuka stared at it in a mixture of apprehension and wonder.

The glowing figure reached out a hand. Asuka numbly reached for it without thinking, expecting her fingers to encounter nothing and to pass through the apparition effortlessly. Instead, to her astonishment, her hand--her mended right hand, she vaguely noticed--met warm, solid flesh. The touch seemed familiar, too. It was caring, warm, loving. It was a feeling one would expect from one's-

"Momma?"

The phantom's brightness intensified as more motes of light appeared out of the mists and merged with it. The glowing form became brighter until it was painful to look at, yet Asuka couldn't tear her eyes away. Finally, the light faded and disappeared; in its place stood the woman whose face lived in Asuka's brightest memories and darkest nightmares. The visage of Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu gave the young Eva pilot a crooked smile.

"Good guess."

Asuka gasped in astonishment and disbelief. She jerked her hand back. "No... This has got to be some sick joke," she whispered to herself. 

"This isn't a joke, Asuka. Not like the one you pulled on poor little Alfred."

The redhead giggled despite herself at the childhood memory. "You mean when I told him that the LCL was some new Jell-o flavor..."

The phantom grinned. "...and that it was okay to drink the sample in the beaker because it hadn't set yet."

Asuka's smile broadened. "The look on his face was priceless! And then..." the girl's voice trailed off to a whisper; her smile disappeared.

"...he was so embarrassed that he made me swear not to tell anyone. And I never did... except... Momma..."

Trembling, the Second Child looked wide-eyed into the face of her mother; pride and love shone in the older woman's eyes. Asuka then suddenly drew the figure into a fierce, tearful embrace that would have left most people gasping for air in seconds.

"I missed you Momma."

"And I missed you too."

For a long while, nothing else needed to be said.

* * *

"Where am I?"

Rei looked into the muted reddish light that surrounded her and tried to find an object, a landmark, or anything else that could tell her where she was. She stood naked in a shallow sea of LCL that extended to the horizon and, although the warm liquid lapped at her ankles, she felt nothing under her bare feet. The fluid's bloody smell filled the air.

"Such a peculiar dream," she murmured to herself.

"Are you so sure it is a dream?"

Rei's eyes widened in surprise at the sound of the voice behind her. She turned around to find the speaker and came face to face with herself--or, rather, someone who could have passed as herself at one point in time.

Grotesque veins ran over her double's body and face and traced bulging trails under her plug suit. Her blue hair was unkempt, matted, and dripped with LCL. Unlike Rei, her other self seemed to be standing on the liquid's surface.

"Who are you?" Rei asked.

"I am Rei Ayanami," replied her twin.

"But I am also Rei Ayanami. What does that make us?"

Her double gazed back at her, unblinking. "We are both, yet we are not."

Rei recalled the briefing she read after the defeat of the Sixteenth Angel and the account of Unit 00's destruction, shortly before her current body's revival. "You are the second," she said flatly.

The plug suit-clad figure nodded. "Yes, and no."

"We are also the first," said a soft, delicate voice behind Rei.

Rei turned her head at the sound of the new voice and saw a little girl, about seven years old, wearing a red and mauve dress and a white blouse. Like her, the girl also had powder blue hair and scarlet eyes.

"We are all Rei Ayanami," the little girl said.

Rei appraised her two new acquaintances calmly. "But you are the previous vessels. You are dead."

The woman in the plug suit shook her head. "The bodies are dead..."

"But the Soul they housed is not," finished the girl in the dress.

"Souls are infinite entities," said the second. "An infinite object divided remains infinite, yet has a finite boundary."

"When the vessel dies, the Soul leaves a fragment of itself behind. The Soul's remnant is therefore infinite," added the first. "Even though the souls are infinite, they are also incomplete."

"The Soul must be complete for us to continue," added the young woman in the plug suit.

"You are the third," the two said in unison, "and also the last. You hold the Soul now. Complete it so we may continue." Rei's two previous incarnations walked toward each other and held hands. As they did so, Rei noticed that the LCL she was standing in was now up to her knees. Whether she was sinking or the liquid was rising, she couldn't tell.

"How do I complete the Soul?" Rei asked. "What must I do?"

The little girl and the woman in the plug suit embraced. Together, they turned their heads toward Rei and fixed her with two pairs of crimson eyes. "You shall see," they said as one. "You must fulfill your destiny."

"My destiny?" Rei asked. The liquid was now up to her waist.

As she watched, the bodies of her soul's former vessels merged with each other. "Yes," they said; the voice seemed to come from within Rei's mind. "The reason for our creation. Behold the keeper of the Soul."

The combined form of Rei's previous bodies grew into a single being that swiftly expanded until it towered over her. Its shape twisted until it took the form of a gigantic humanoid with seven eyes on its otherwise featureless face.

"Lilith?" Rei gasped.

The voices coming from inside her mind coalesced into words that flashed across her vision:

FULFILL YOUR DESTINY.

The LCL was up to Rei's shoulders.

RETURN THAT WHICH IS OURS.

As the viscous fluid covered her head, she saw that the Angel's face had transformed into that of a lovely young woman with close-cropped hair and red eyes.

COMPLETE US.

Lilith stared at the First Child with Rei's own face.

COME HOME.

Rei's eyes shot open. Disoriented, she frantically looked around in the darkness surrounding her and tried to find some clue of her whereabouts. She sighed with relief when she saw the pale green display of her clock on the desk.

4:00 AM.

Unable or unwilling to go back to sleep, Rei lay in her bed and listened to the faint buzzing of the flies in her dank apartment. She stayed there, thinking, until her alarm went off hours later.

* * *

"Asuka..."

Kyoko Sohryu held her daughter in the swirling mists and ran her fingers gently through the girl's auburn hair.

"Asuka?"

The Second Child looked up from her mother's arms. "Yes, Momma?"

"Asuka, dear... You must go now. You cannot stay here." There was a hint of sadness in her voice. 

"_What!?_" Asuka tore herself from her mother's embrace and stepped back; her eyes burned with anger and confusion. "That's stupid! I finally get to see you after all these years and now you send me away? Why?"

"Look around you, dear. You know you don't belong here, in this world of dreams and semi-reality. You belong in the real world. There are people out there that need you. And you need them."

Asuka snorted and folded her arms in front of her chest. "If you've been watching over me this whole time, you know I can take care of myself."

"Trust me. I can name several people right now, if you wish."

The redheaded Eva pilot smirked. "Yeah, well that idiot Shinji needs me to keep him from making a total ass of himself. And someone's gotta be around to put Wonder Girl back in her place-"

Her mother frowned at her. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Asuka sighed. "Will I see you again?"

"Changing the subject, are we?" Kyoko couldn't help but smile faintly.

"Just answer the question, please?"

Her mother's smile saddened. "I'll always be with you."

"That's not an answer."

"My soul is in your Eva, but you don't need it to be with me. I'll always be with you--in your mind, your soul, and in your heart."

It was Asuka's turn to frown. "That's not what I meant, either."

"I know, and I'm sorry. But until it is time for us to truly be together, it will have to do. Until then, be strong."

Asuka placed a hand on her hip and gave her mother a confident look. "Like there's any doubt of that." Tears welled up in the pilot's eyes, betraying her emotions despite her cocky stance.

The spirit chuckled as its body started to glow again, the swirling motes disappearing into the fog. "That's my girl. _Ich liebe dich_, Asuka. I'm so proud of you."

Mother and daughter embraced once more.

"_Ich liebe dich auch_, Momma."

As Kyoko's spirit faded, Asuka's arms passed through the glowing form. Her hands, free of resistance, slowly continued their way around the front of her body until she hugged her own shoulders. Slowly, she sank to the featureless ground as tears streamed down her cheeks; a content smile was on her lips for the first time in an eternity.

"Goodbye," she whispered as the fog dissipated, leaving her in the comfort of a now-dreamless sleep.

The nurses on the night shift were busy tending to the wounded from the previous day's battle that evening, so it was understandable that no one watched the video feeds from the wards all that closely. If someone had, they might have noticed something peculiar on the image from Room 110. If they had looked hard enough they could have, for a brief moment, seen a faint shimmering in the air that vaguely resembled a woman, bent over the lone occupant of the room as if to gently kiss her forehead.

In that bed in the remains of NERV headquarters, the Second Child's sleeping body lay on its side. She hugged herself; her face wore the same peaceful smile as it did in her dream. A tear trickled from her left eye and was quickly absorbed by the gauze bandage covering it.

The nightmares would never come again. Her mother would see to it.

* * *

_Heaven's Mercy Memorial Park, Tokyo-3_

_January 15, 2016_

Shinji stood before the statue as its shadow lengthened in the evening twilight. The twenty-foot-tall sculpture was that of a solemn winged woman carrying a fallen body skyward; a bronze plaque shone on each of the base's eight sides, NERV's logo proudly emblazoned upon each. Underneath was a roster of the dead and missing from that horrible day two weeks ago; by Shinji's rough estimate, there were well over five hundred names engraved there.

Everyone else had gone home from the afternoon's memorial service long ago; Asuka was taken back to the hospital to get more rest, while Rei had quietly slipped away amid the hustle and bustle of the cleanup. That was a good thing, in a way; Shinji felt he needed more time alone with his thoughts, and couldn't face either of his fellow pilots.

As he looked over the names of the fallen on one of the bases, his gaze lingered on one name in particular:

Major Misato Katsuragi. 

The only family he'd really ever had these past tumultuous six months.

It was Misato who had taken him in when his father shut him out; she helped him cope with life amid humanity; she had supported him, stood up for him, and encouraged him; and her brilliant tactical mind saved his life countless times. She had her faults, too--her cavalier attitude about life, her housekeeping, and her appalling lack of cooking skills, to name a few--but it had all been part of the human being that was Misato Katsuragi. 

Shinji brought a cross-shaped pendant out from under his shirt and ran his fingers over its edges, gently tracing its outline. It was Misato who had dragged Shinji to the elevator that day, handed him the necklace he held now, kissed him tenderly, and sent him to the cage where his Eva waited. Everything else about that day was an insubstantial haze, locked away in the far corners of his mind. The end result was clear, though: Shinji had made it back; Misato hadn't.

_I'm sorry, Misato._

_I was a coward._

_If I hadn't been so filled with self-pity..._

_If I had piloted Eva sooner..._

_You'd still be here, wouldn't you?_

His quivering hand closed around the pendant, squeezing it until the corners of the cross dug deep into the palm of his hand. He closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. His mind replayed the last, comforting words she said to him as he lay in bed after the first Angel attack:

"You should be proud... Hang in there."

_Oh, Misato, how can I be proud?_

_I can't..._

_It's my fault you're gone._

_Please forgive me._

His eyes filled with tears; Shinji thrust Misato's pendant back under his shirt as he turned from the memorial and walked into the gathering gloom.

* * *

In the next chapter of Exorcism:

Secrets abound as SEELE makes alternate plans following the failure of Third Impact, NERV rebuilds, the mysterious organization from the prologue continues to plot from the shadows, and the past is revisited again. Find out what's in store for the Children and the rest of the world in 'Plans Within Plans'!


	4. Plans Within Plans

Disclaimer and Acknowledgements: See Prologue.

**Evangelion: Exorcism**

By Akodo Tim

**Plans Within Plans**

"Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices [which] ye wrongfully imagine against me."

_- Job 21:27_

_Saint Teresa's Basilica, Nova Jerusalem_

_July 07, 2015_

"You wished to see me, Your Holiness?"

Samuel knelt on the sanctum's unyielding stone floor, his balding head bowed in supplication. He fixed his eyes downward, averting his gaze from the harsh white light that illuminated the gigantic cross before him. 

"Yes, my child. I have news I wish to share with you." The Voice, as it always had, boomed out of the chamber's darkness from all around. The sanctum filled with silence as the Voice paused; despite Samuel's curiosity, he stayed perfectly still in the darkened room as he waited for it to continue. Finally, it spoke again:

"Gomorrah has fallen." The Voice was flat and emotionless, despite the news.

Samuel blinked in surprise and barely managed to resist the urge to look up. "So soon?" Despite his best efforts, he could not hide the excitement in his voice. "Then Nathaniel completed his objective?"

"Yes." 

Samuel's elation at the news was quickly replaced by confusion; the Apostle's brows wrinkled in puzzlement. "I don't understand. The second phase was not to have started for at least another two weeks."

"It was." agreed the Voice. "Nathaniel should have waited; the success of his mission would have had much more impact if he had waited until the fourth and fifth units had been brought together so they could have both been destroyed in one decisive blow."

Samuel nodded slowly, thinking. "Was Nathaniel too eager, or did Judas give the order too soon?"

"Perhaps both, perhaps neither. At any rate, I am displeased that such a significant change in our plans was allowed to occur." The Voice paused, as if considering something. "I want you to ask Judas personally about this matter and to take appropriate action if necessary. I leave everything in your capable hands, my child."

"It shall be done, Your Holiness." Samuel climbed to his feet and walked out of the room, the gilded doors silently closing behind him.

* * *

Samuel strode through the busy hallway as uniformed technicians, recognizing their visitor, scrambled to get out of his way. He paid them little mind; he was here on more important business than to terrorize the staff. He reached the plain, polished wooden door and pushed; it opened easily on well-oiled hinges.

The office, like so many rooms in the basilica, was Spartan. A simple, cluttered wooden desk, two unadorned chairs, a black metal filing cabinet, and two bookshelves were the room's only furnishings. A man in his fifties was sitting on one of the chairs, reading a printout through a pair of wire-rimmed reading glasses as sunlight streamed through the window to collect in bright pools on the floor. Like Samuel, he was also wearing a rough brown robe.

"Judas."

The man looked up from his paperwork with a start, then smiled as he recognized his visitor. "Ah, Samuel! What a pleasant surprise!" He gestured to the remaining chair. "Please, come sit down."

Samuel shook his head politely. "I'd rather stand, thank you." He hesitated, then clasped his hands behind his back and looked back at Judas. "I heard about the success of Nathaniel's mission."

The spectacled man's smile grew wider. "Yes! Isn't it glorious?"

Samuel fixed Judas with a level gaze, appraising the older man's reaction. "Judging by your answer, am I correct in assuming that you gave the order to start the second phase of the operation?"

Judas' grin disappeared as he placed the pile of papers he had been reading on his desk to join its brethren. "Well, no. I don't know what happened-" Scowling, Samuel cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"You're _supposed_ to know. You're one of our intelligence directors, and you are saying that you didn't know what your own operative was doing?"

Judas frowned and emphatically shook his head. "Samuel, this came as much of a shock to me as it did to you. Under the circumstances it's fortunate that Gomorrah fell, but I don't know if Nathaniel had a part to play in it or not. For all we know, it may have been sabotage from a third party, or it had something to do with the S2 engine prototype NERV was installing. We're still analyzing the data." He gestured to the scattered piles of paper that threatened to take over the desk.

"I see." His head bowed in thought, Samuel stood over Judas; he crossed his arms and stared at the man seated at the desk. "In other words, you had no control over the situation and left things to God's will?"

Judas angrily rose to his feet, sending the rickety wooden chair teetering backward before it fell with a clatter to the floor. "Oh, come on. You wore the mantle of Judas for years before you became Samuel. You know as much as I do that some things are out of our control, especially on deep-cover missions like Nathaniel's and the rest of the harbingers."

Samuel nodded as he stroked his chin. "Indeed. But, still, His Holiness is not pleased with the way the operation panned out." Samuel let his hands fall to his sides as Judas gulped nervously. "By the way," he added, "he sends his regards."

Judas licked his suddenly dry lips and swallowed again. "R-really? I'm... honored. What did he have to say?"

Samuel smiled coldly and stared into Judas' eyes. "He asked me to tell you, 'But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments... I also will do this unto you.'"

Judas' eyes narrowed in confusion. "What? But-"

Samuel pulled out the flechette pistol hidden in one of his robe's loose-fitting sleeves and squeezed the trigger. The gun's motor whined as it shredded the block of plastic in the chamber and blasted the jagged shards into Judas' chest. A second squeeze sent more into the wounded man's belly. The director's eyes widened in shock, then glazed over as his body landed on the floor in a widening pool of blood.

Samuel tucked the gun back under his voluminous robes, calmly spun on his heel, and walked back to the door. He gave Judas one last glance as he reached for the doorknob. "Incompetent zealot," he sniffed disdainfully. As he stepped through the door and walked down the hallway to the elevator, he signalled one of the bustling technicians to get someone to clean up the mess in the office. She paled and rushed off.

"I hate zealots," he muttered to himself as the lift doors opened.

* * *

_Undisclosed Location_

_January 05, 2016_

Keel Lorentz, his hands clasped in front of him as he sat at his desk, nodded curtly to the images of seven numbered black monoliths as they appeared before him out of the darkened room. His lips were pressed in a thin line as he gathered his thoughts; the dim light of the monoliths' numbers reflected off his visor's lens. "Gentlemen," he announced. "I am glad that you could make it. Now that we are all here, we may begin."

"Unless my eyes deceive me, One, we happen to be a few members short," said the deep voice of Six, its voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is your shock at our failure so great that you have forgotten how to count?"

Keel's lip curled. "For someone so intelligent, you have an appallingly poor grasp of current events." His eyes wandered to the empty spaces in the ring of monoliths. "Two's, Four's and Eleven's roles in the attack on NERV's headquarters have been discovered. All three were placed under house arrest two days ago and are expected to be brought before the International Criminal Court shortly."

"Along with half the Japanese government," mused the reedy voice of Three. "They're going to be very busy in The Hague for quite some time."

"They were too eager, too confident. That was very sloppy work on their part," Ten muttered. "I trust their involvement with the rest of us will not be brought to light?"

Keel smiled grimly. "I can assure you that that has been taken care of."

"What about Eight?" asked Five's heavily accented voice.

"If the authorities are to be believed, our Russian colleague apparently committed suicide yesterday."

"And, of course, you do not believe them."

Keel smiled grimly. "Let's just say I find the circumstances of his death... suspect."

"Enough small talk, gentlemen," Twelve snapped irritably. "Why have you called us together, One?"

"Always to the point, eh Twelve?" Keel replied. "All right, then. I wish to give you an update on our current situation and to discuss our future plans now that Complementation has failed for now."

"For _now_?" Six's booming voice was incredulous. "We gambled everything we had and we lost. How do you propose we accomplish our goals now?"

"We can still fulfill our objectives. In time, the Evas that were lost in the assault can be replaced. Eva 01 is still active. Lilith is still in the bowels of NERV headquarters-"

"And Fuyutsuki is in command there now that Ikari is dead," interrupted Three. "We have traded one thorn in our side for another."

"The Evas can be replaced," growled Seven, "but at what cost? The UN simply will not bankroll the production of more of them, especially now that the threat of the Angels has passed. If we were to fund the construction ourselves it would take years, if not decades."

"Patience is what got us here," said Keel, calmly. "We waited over fifteen years for our first chance, and I am willing to wait another fifteen years or more for another. Remember what is at stake, gentlemen. Is the future of mankind, under our own terms, not worth it?"

Seven grunted. "So what are you suggesting we do now? Do we sit on our hands and do nothing?"

Keel shook his head. "No. But for now, we must play the hand we have been dealt until was are able to act decisively."

"What about Fuyutsuki?" asked Twelve.

"I don't think we'll have to worry about him; he won't stay around forever. If he becomes too troublesome... he can be removed."

"We should have done that with Ikari long ago," Three muttered. Keel ignored the barbed comment.

"And the fate of NERV?" asked Five.

"I have formally proposed to the UN that the Instrumentality Council be dissolved due to the end of the Angel's threat to humanity--for the sake of appearances, of course. NERV was supposed to have been disbanded as well, but the Security Council intervened and has moved that NERV be placed under the military's jurisdiction."

"Interesting," said the silky voice of Nine. "Did they give any reason?"

"Some of the more paranoid members wanted to keep them around in case the Dead Sea scrolls had been misinterpreted." Several voices chuckled ruefully at that. "Also, the threat of two supposedly rogue Eva units was enough to convince the Council that NERV is still needed."

"Ah, yes," said Nine. "Units 06 and 11. What are we to do with them? They are still instrumental to our plans, but we cannot afford to let them be found."

"That has already been taken care of. They have been deactivated and will be sent to the ocean floor for the time being; they can be retrieved when we need them. The blood on their hands will not be on ours."

"So where does that leave us, then?" asked Six gruffly.

"Our position is still secure. Despite our failure, nothing damaging to us as a whole has been revealed. We can manipulate the fools on the Security Council just as easily as we did those on the Instrumentality Council." Keel smiled grimly. "All we have to do is be patient and make our move when the time is right." He paused. "Now, if there is no further business, gentlemen...?"

Silence greeted his question.

"Very well. Dismissed."

The monoliths winked out, leaving Keel alone in the shadows with his thoughts.

* * *

_Saint Teresa's Basilica, Nova Jerusalem_

_January 05, 2016_

His Holiness leaned back in his chair and silently watched through the monitors as Samuel left the darkened sanctum next door. He sat there for a few minutes until, satisfied that he would not be disturbed by the Apostle, he pressed a button on his console and waited as a section of the mahogany-paneled wall slid open to reveal a large projection video screen. With a few keystrokes, he called up a replay of the satellite feed from over Tokyo-3 from four days ago.

"Keel, you old fool, what were you thinking?" he murmured in a tired voice as he saw the battle unfold in front of him again. He watched the events on the screen in rapt attention until, finally, the JSSDF forces and the remaining two white Evangelion units retreated. He paused the video and tapped his chin with a long, thin finger.

_And again, mankind's pride and ambition becomes his downfall._

The frail, elderly man stared at the arched ceiling of his office, lost in thought. As he watched the floating dust motes catch the warm rays of the afternoon sun, he considered his options and the potential consequences of each plan of action for the millionth time. After a while, he flipped a switch on the console; the screen, still showing the battle's final moment, switched itself off and silently retracted into the wall.

_I'm sorry, old friend, but you have forced my hand._

The schedule had to be moved up; there was no other choice. He picked up the phone next to his chair and dialled it with practised ease. The line rang once before a gruff voice answered.

"Yes?"

"John, my child," the elderly man spoke; the handset's built-in voice modulator turned his wavering voice into one that was immediately recognized by the man on the other end.

"Your Holiness!" John's voice sounded surprised, but he quickly recovered from the shock. "You honor me with your call. I am at your command."

"Excellent," said the Voice. "I wish to see you in the sanctum immediately."

"Of course. Do you wish me to bring anything?"

"Yes," the Voice replied. "I need your knowledge of the preliminary plans for Operation Sagittarius."

"Sagittarius?" Surprise crept into John's voice again. "Have things gone that far?"

"I shall brief you on what has been happening on Japan, then you can give me your opinion."

"As you wish, Your Holiness. I shall be there shortly."

"Excellent. I will be expecting you."

The frail man hung up the phone, activated the panel that controlled the sanctum's lighting and sound systems, then turned his attention to the monitors again and waited for John to arrive.

* * *

_Classified Location, Nevada Desert_

_January 09, 2016_

"Sir, let's get going. Those clouds are moving in fast."

Corporal Bradley Liang shifted in the seat of the hum-vee as he analyzed the oncoming clouds. "We've still got another hour. That's enough time for us to finish our patrol."

Private David Connor shrugged as he turned the key in the ignition and grasped the wheel. "You're the boss," he replied as he put the vehicle in gear and drove down the hard-packed road that circled the hundred mile-wide crater. "Sir," he yelled over the roar of the engine, "remind me again why we're out here in the middle of nowhere guarding a hole in the ground."

"We're here 'cause Sergeant Anderson heard you saying she was a bitch, remember?" Liang shouted back.

"Funny."

"I try." Bradley peered into the gigantic crater that had once been the location of NERV's Second Branch. He was just about to reach for his binoculars when he was thrown hard into his seatbelt as David slammed on the brakes. He glared at the man behind the wheel. "Geez, Dave, why-"

David signalled for quiet as he turned off the engine. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked Bradley, rubbing his sore shoulder.

A faint rumble, clearly audible now that the hum-vee's engine had been turned off, cut through the air. "That," said David nervously.

Bradley removed his helmet and ran his fingers through his gritty black hair. "That's probably thunder."

"Nope." David shook his head. "The forecast didn't call for thunder at all today. It's too loud for that, even if it was."

"Then what-"

Another rumble, much louder than the first, accompanied a tremor that shook the little vehicle, raising clouds of dust and sending pebbles skittering off the hood. The two soldiers looked at each other, confused. "Wasn't me," David said defensively. 

Bradley reached behind his seat and finally pulled out the binoculars. "I'm going to have a look-see." He stood in his seat and scanned the crater below him. As he brought the binoculars to his eyes, a flicker of movement far below caught his attention. He spun the focus knob, braced his elbows against the vehicle's rollbar for support, and tried to find its source.

A perfectly round patch of blackness, easily visible and very much out of place against the pale ashen gravel of the crater floor, caught his eye. As he watched it, the darkness suddenly pulsed and grew; another tremor rocked the hum-vee a second later.

"What the...?"

The binoculars dropped from his grasp and bounced against the rollbar. He caught them by the neckstrap and looked through them again.

Faint golden, geometric patterns played across the blackness, swirling over the shadow faster and faster. They grew in intensity until a disc of dazzling brightness replaced the darkness. Suddenly, something--a pair of hands?-- thrust through the center of the disc and clutched the brightness as if it was a piece of shimmering, golden cloth and ripped it in two. The light disappeared.

Bradley nearly lost his balance as another quake, much more powerful than before, shook the desert.

The hands grasped the edge of the portal. Gleaming, silver fingers dug into the desert floor, gouging deep furrows in the gravel. After a moment, a grotesque, menacing head and a slender, black and silver armored body followed the hands out of the pit. Its eyes glowed with a ghastly, vermilion light.

Satan was climbing out of the depths of Hell.

_Holy mother of God..._ "DAVE! Radio HQ and call in support!" Bradley kept his binoculars trained on the beast below, watching with a mixture of morbid fascination and terror.

With a final effort, the hulking brute pulled itself out of the pit and collapsed on the crater floor. The light in its eyes flashed, then flickered and died. The dark portal by its feet dissolved, as if evaporated by the desert heat. The rising wind blew clouds of sand around the metal skull-like face that grinned back at the two men above.

* * *

_Freighter _Akashi Bridge

_Philippine Sea_

_January 14, 2016_

"Mayday! Mayday! This is the freighter _Akashi Bridge_. Our current location is 13 degrees, 4 minutes north by 140 degrees, 22 minutes, 19 seconds east. We have encountered heavy seas and are taking on water. Repeat, this is the freighter _Akashi Bridge_..."

The stricken freighter's captain barely heard his radio operator broadcast the distress call. He stoically stood on the ship's bridge and stared out the window as another wave broke over the deck. Crewmen scrambled to secure the two enormous containers sitting exposed to the driving rain as the wind howled around them. As the men scurried around on the slick deck below, he watched as his ship, his livelihood, and his lifelong dreams foundered in the storm.

The microexplosive charges he had detonated in the cargo bay below the waterline an hour before hadn't helped the situation, either.

There would be an inquiry, of course. The board would hear how he had misread or ignored the weather reports and had steered the ship into the teeth of the typhoon in a vain attempt to shave some time off their run to Sydney. His crew would testify that he had refused to alter their course even after the storm had caught up with them, and how the ship and their lives had become victims of his pride. It didn't really matter to him; he was being paid well enough to scuttle his vessel that he could retire comfortably even if he never set out on the water again. Still, the loss was painful for someone who had lived practically his whole life at sea.

Breathing a deep sigh, he reached for the microphone and flicked the transmit switch. "Attention; this is the captain!" he barked. "Man the lifeboats! All hands, abandon ship! Repeat, abandon ship!"

As the freighter finally slipped beneath the waves an hour later, the only sounds aboard the sinking vessel were the creaking of overstressed bulkheads, the rumble of shifting cargo, and, for a brief second, a loud, tearing sound from the two containers strapped to the deck as they burst open. Evangelion Units 06 and 11, free of their confinement, shot to the surface, erupting from the water like a pair of gigantic white porpoises. Ignoring the fury of the typhoon, they spread their wings and glided over the storm-tossed waves on their way to their new rendezvous point; their shark-like mouths twisted into feral grins as their dummy plugs processed their new programming.

* * *

_Commander Fuyutsuki's Office_

_NERV Headquarters_

_January 19, 2016_

Commander Kouzou Fuyutsuki stood in front of the shatterproof window of his office; the heat from his teacup warmed his hands as he watched the technicians working on the Evangelion units below. The light pouring in from the cavernous bay holding the launch cages provided the only illumination in the spacious room. 

It looked like things were more or less back to normal at NERV's Third Branch. As he watched the final repairs being made to Unit 02, Fuyutsuki's gaze wandered to the hole in the wall left by Unit 01 in its fight against Zeruel, then to the numerous bullet holes and scorch marks still on the metal walls of the bay.

The sound of someone entering the office brought NERV's commander out of his thoughts. He turned and greeted the two figures silhouetted against the open doorway with a nod as he walked to his desk and set the teacup down. "You're early," he said with the barest hint of a smile as they entered the room.

"Well," said a young spectacled man, "this _is_ pretty exciting news." Makoto Hyuga, NERV's new operations director, grinned. "So, when's our new arrival coming?"

"Unit 04's arriving from America tomorrow." Fuyutsuki took two files from his desk and gave one to each of his visitors. "Of course, once it shows up we'll need a full battery of tests performed, including structural integrity checks and a full biomechanical diagnostic. All relevant logs and black box recordings also have to be reviewed and examined before we can even think of putting a pilot inside, for obvious reasons." He looked at the other person in the office. "I trust you can handle this much work on your first week at your new job, Doctor?"

Maya Ibuki's face eagerly smiled back at the older man. "Just try and stop me, sir."

Hyuga smiled as he glanced through the file in his hands. "Something tells me you'd be working on it on your laptop if you were bedridden, too." His fingers flipped through the papers, then froze. "Hey, what's with this?"

"Where?" asked Maya, opening her folder.

"Page five."

Maya's eyes widened in disbelief as she read the page.

"Oh," Fuyutsuki said nonchalantly. "Those are suggestions that the military has made for upgrading the Evas. Apparently, someone higher up wants the Evas to have anti-personnel capabilities, in light of what happened during the attack-"

"Absolutely not!"  Maya closed her booklet with a loud snap. Her brown eyes smouldered. "With all due respect, sir, the Evas were designed to fight Angels--not to be killing machines!" 

"Still, from a tactical point of view," Hyuga mused, "It would make the Evas more flexible in a battle against smaller targets without changing their design parameters-"

"To Hell with your parameters!" Maya growled at her fellow officer. "It was bad enough to force the pilots to put their lives on the line before. Now you want them to kill, too? Do you know how killing someone practically face to face will affect those children emotionally?"

"Need I remind you that Shinji already had to do kill Pilot Nagisa?" NERV's commander asked evenly. "Whether Nagisa was known to be an Angel at the time is irrelevant. If Mankind is now our worst enemy, it will only be a matter of time before a pilot will have to do kill again."

"You can't be serious, sir!" Maya gasped and turned to Fuyutsuki.

The older man shrugged. "It wasn't my idea; I'm simply playing Devil's advocate. The final decision is mine, though."

"And what do the MAGI say about this?" asked Hyuga.

"Two in favor, one against."

The brunette was aghast. "So... we're going to go ahead with the modifications?"

Fuyutsuki took a deep breath and considered the matter for a minute. "No."

"You're overruling the MAGI on this?" Hyuga asked, surprised, as Maya breathed a sigh of relief. "Not that I'm complaining, but may I ask why?"

Fuyutsuki gave a slight smile. "Call it an old man's intuition." He looked at Maya. "And a very persuasive program director." She blushed, smiling. "Now, I suggest that you two go over the rest of the readouts. We've got a lot of work ahead of us."

"Yes, sir." Maya and Hyuga turned to leave the office. They were almost out the door when Fuyutsuki spoke again.

"Oh, Captain Hyuga?"

"Yes, Commander?" The young man stopped and turned around.

"Do you play shogi?"

Hyuga looked at him, confused. "Sir?"

"Shogi. Do you know how to play?"

"No, sir."

"You should learn. You might find it... useful."

Hyuga thought for a moment. "I'll... keep that in mind." he said as he turned again and left the office.

* * *

In the next chapter of Exorcism:

Old friends are reunited as Asuka and others begin their 'Long Journey Home'.

_A/N:_ If anyone was confused about the whole 'Fourth Unit/Fifth Unit' thing, _gomen nisai_. You're not alone; I tripped my prereaders up on it too. Count Unit 00 as the First Unit and take it from there; I didn't think the 'holy men' would distinguish between the prototype, test type, and production models.


	5. The Long Journey Home

**Evangelion: Exorcism**

By Akodo Tim

**The Long Journey Home**

"And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed."

_- Mark 7:29-30_

* * *

_Shin Hakata Transit Station, Tokyo-3_

_January 23, 2016_

The train station was mostly deserted; only a handful of people milled about, waiting for either a train to take them home or to reunite them with loved ones. One of the people waiting on the platform that day was a young teenage boy wearing a simple collared white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. His dark blue eyes were closed for the moment as he listened to a SDAT player, though every so often he would open them to check the large clock hanging on the wall.

On most other days, Shinji Ikari had the tremendous responsibility of preventing mankind's ultimate destruction. Today, however, he had a less important, yet just as weighty problem, on his mind.

"Damn it, Hikari," he muttered to himself as he looked at the clock for the umpteenth time, "it's not like you to be late like this."

* * *

"Ikari!"

A familiar voice called Shinji's name as the train pulled up to the platform. The young man stood up and looked around, searching for its source; he smiled as a girl roughly his age stepped off the train and ran toward him despite the size of the backpack she carried on her shoulder; her brown hair, done up in pigtails, flew in the air with every step she took. Her freckled face broke into a grin as she came closer.

"Hey," Shinji called as she stopped in front of him. "If it isn't the class rep!"

Hikari held up a finger to correct him. "_Ex-_class rep, you mean. I'm in another school now, remember?" She wagged the finger in Shinji's face as if to scold him. "Or are you really as dense as Asuka says?"

The Eva pilot frowned. "Stop that."

"Just teasing." She looked at Shinji's eyes as her expression became one of concern. "Speaking of Asuka... how is she?"

Shinji shrugged. "I just dropped off some of her stuff at the hospital this morning."

"Any news?" Hikari asked anxiously.

"W-well... patient status is classified information..."

Hikari's eyes smouldered with a mix of frustration and anxiety. "Shinji..."

Shinji sighed. "But, seeing as she's your best friend..." He paused and took a deep breath to gather his thoughts. "Hikari... do you think you can stay an extra day or two?"

Worry for her friend clutched at Hikari's heart, causing it to leap into her throat. "Why?"

"I-I talked to the doctors while I was there today..."

"And...?"

Shinji's face brightened. "...She's going to be discharged this weekend and she's going to be fine. I thought you two would like to-"

He was interrupted by Hikari's gleeful squeal and enthusiastic hug.

"I... I take it that's a yes, then?" he asked as he gasped for breath.

"I just have to call my father. I don't think he'll mind."

"That's good," Shinji gave a faint smile. "I'm sure she'll appreciate that." He looked around, puzzled. "Hey, where's Pen-pen? I thought you said you were bringing him." His expression turned to one of dread. "You didn't leave him on the train, did you?"

Hikari's jaw dropped in shock. "_Ikari!_ How could you even think something like that?"

"Sorry."

"That's okay." The brunette girl blushed and sheepishly looked at the ground. "Actually, he's the reason why I missed the last train."

"Oh, no..." Shinji groaned as he covered his eyes with his hand. "So, where is he, then? What happened?"

"Touji's got him."

"Oh." His hand fell to his side. "You left him at his place, then? And he didn't mind?"

"No," Hikari replied; an odd expression appeared on her face as she glanced over Shinji's shoulder. "You see-"

"_Wark!_"

Hikari giggled as Shinji's eyes widened. Slowly, he turned and looked down behind him. There, sticking his head out of a plain, ice-filled styrofoam cooler, was Pen-pen. The warm-water penguin cocked its head to one side and flapped his flippers excitedly. Trembling, Shinji looked up from his former roommate and into the face of-

"T-Touji?"

"Hey, Big Shot." The Fourth Child sat in a wheelchair with Pen-pen's cooler sitting on his lap; the left leg of his tracksuit was folded neatly under the stump of his missing leg. A pair of crutches was strapped to the back of the chair. "Long time no see."

Hikari smiled as she watched the reunion of two-thirds of Tokyo-3 First Junior High School's infamous Three Stooges. "When I told Touji where I would be this weekend, he wanted to come along. He wouldn't take no for..." Her voice trailed off nervously as she saw Shinji tremble and grow deathly pale. "Um, I'll leave you two alone to catch up... I need to go to the... I'll be back..." She hurriedly scooped up Pen-pen and walked to the steps leading from the platform to the street below.

The two young men stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Shinji's hands clenched. A familiar mantra came to his head, replaying itself over and over. 

_I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away..._

As Shinji struggled with his fears, Touji looked up at his friend and former classmate with understanding eyes. "Shinji..." he said softly,  "I know what you're going to say."

The Third Child cocked an eyebrow at his friend. "Really?" he mumbled.

"Yeah. And I forgive you." Touji gave him a small smile. "I mean, I'm sorry it happened too, but it wasn't your fault-"

"What makes you so sure of that?" Shinji yelled. Several people, startled by the young man's outburst, glanced their way. His face flushed slightly as he lowered his voice. "I was piloting Unit 01 when it..."

"No you weren't." The Fourth Child shook his head. "You were in the entry plug, but you weren't piloting."

Shinji stared at his wheelchair-bound friend. "How did you..."

"The comm line was open; I heard the whole thing but I couldn't transmit because of the Angel's control. I heard you begging the Commander to stop. If anyone was to blame, it was that bastard father of yours." He paused as he realized what he had just said. "Sorry. No offense," he hastily added.

"None taken," Shinji said weakly. He still didn't sound convinced.

Touji gave the Third Child a concerned look. "Shinji, you put yourself through hell over what happened ever since Unit 03 was destroyed. You've been beating yourself up over it for months." He looked at his friend squarely in the eyes. "Look, Big Shot. All the guilt you've put yourself through isn't going to bring my leg back, so don't blame yourself. It's in the past."

Shinji sighed. "Really?"

Touji nodded. "Really. Come on; let's go get Hikari." 

Shinji gave his friend a faint smile as he kept pace with his wheelchair. "You've changed, Touji."

"Yeah, being stuck in here can make you think a lot."

"I suppose." They began descending the ramp leading to the street when Shinji realized he had forgotten to ask something. "Hey, why were you guys late, anyway?"

"Oh." Touji rolled his eyes. "Beer."

"Beer?"

"Yeah. There was an open can of beer in the cooler, and some conductor with a chip on his shoulder kicked us off the train because of it."

"Really? That's kind of harsh."

Touji shrugged. "Well, things were going okay until we tried telling him it was for Pen-pen."

Shinji smiled. "Something tells me he didn't believe you."

"Yeah. And I've got such an honest face, too..."

* * *

_Room 110, First Cranial Nerve Ward_

_NERV Headquarters Hospital Wing_

_January 24, 2016_

_Geez, I'm bored._

Asuka tossed the dog-eared fashion magazine she had been reading aside and slowly climbed out of her bed, stretched, then made her way to the bathroom. The flimsy hospital gown she had been wearing for the majority of her stay had been replaced by a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt from home that someone--probably Shinji, judging by the food that came with the care package--had dropped off at the nurse's station with several other articles of clothing and a wheeled suitcase the day before.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror as she washed her hands. The bandages were gone now; the stitches in her arm had been removed several days ago, and a simple white plastic shield covered her left eye most of the time. Soon, the doctors said, she wouldn't need that either. Asuka's recovery from the transplants and reconstructive surgery would never be complete--the doctors said she would probably suffer from occasional headaches and dizziness for the rest of her life, and the pins they planted in her arm were permanent--but when a nurse handed her a mirror after they unwrapped the gauze from around her head two days ago, she looked into her face and stared at her bruised, bloodshot, swollen eye for the first time since the battle.

It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

Asuka heard someone come into her room as she dried her hands. "Yeah, yeah, just a second," she called. She hung the towel on a hook and stepped out of the bathroom. "I'm not hungry, so just take the tray... Oh." her voice became icy as she recognized her visitor. "It's _you_."

Rei stood just inside her room, her delicate face its usual serene mask; she held her left arm behind her and clutched her other arm close to her body. She was wearing her school uniform, despite the fact that it was a Sunday and that the school the two teenagers normally attended had been closed ever since the attack. The First Child stared back at the copper-haired pilot impassively. "Of course it is me," she said softly. "Who would I be if I were not?"

Asuka blinked. _Great. The teacher's pet is getting philosophical._ "You really don't want me to answer that," she muttered. She sauntered to the foot of the bed and sat down without another word, facing away from her scarlet-eyed classmate. Several long minutes passed; neither girl moved nor spoke. Only the gentle, rhythmic ticking of the wall clock, the faint sounds of activity in the hallway, and the occasional page over the PA system broke the silence.

Sheist, _can't she take a hint?_

Finally, Asuka resigned herself to the fact that ignoring her fellow pilot wouldn't make her go away, and turned to face her. "So why are you here, Wonder Girl?" she sneered. "Did someone order you to visit me or something?"

"Not exactly," came Rei's reply, in her usual quiet voice. "Captain Hyuga asked me to escort you home."

The redhead's eyes narrowed. "_What_?" she asked incredulously. 

"You are being discharged from the hospital."

"I figured that," she snapped. "It's not like I don't know my way back home. I don't need a babysitter."

Rei shook her head. "Doctor's orders."

Asuka opened her mouth to reply, then realized how pointless it was to argue with Rei when she had been given a command and closed it again. She sighed. "Why you? Couldn't they have asked someone else?"

"Pilot Ikari is undergoing a synchronization test. Captain Hyuga thought I would be the next best choice."

The Second Child rolled her eyes and made herself a promise to kill her commanding officer later--slowly. "Okay, okay, you've made your point. But don't expect me to like it." She got up off the bed and reached under it to grab her suitcase; she gritted her teeth and winced slightly as pain shot up her arm.

"Very well," said the blue-haired girl, "I will inform the nurses on duty that you are leaving." She walked out of the room and headed for the nurse's station, ignoring the oaths Asuka muttered in German under her breath as she packed.

* * *

_Ikari/Sohryu Residence_

A soft beep and the whoosh of a sliding door broke the late morning silence. A tall man quickly and silently crept into the apartment and checked the rooms for occupants. After a minute, he gave an 'all clear' sign; a woman stealthily made her way to the living room and closed the blinds while another man entered and carried a large package into the kitchen. The tall man made his way back to the hallway and returned seconds later with several cardboard boxes. He quickly and efficiently went about his business while the intruder in the kitchen unceremoniously plopped the large parcel down onto the kitchen table.

"Hey, be careful with that!" hissed the tall man.

"Sorry," came the subdued apology from kitchen.

"Is it okay?" whispered the woman as she ran a piece of wire from the doorframe of the living room. "If it got damaged, we'll have to call the whole thing off..."

"No, it's all right," replied the second man.

"Good," she said. "Now make yourself useful and get those cylinders set up." She stopped for a second to check her handiwork. "So, do you think we can pull it off?"

"We'll have to," said the shorter man as he wrestled with a cylinder of compressed gas. "We've only got one shot at this."

"Don't worry," said the tall man. A razor-sharp blade sprang from its sheath with a practised flick of a wrist. "We've got time." He grinned. "She won't know what hit her."

* * *

"Okay," Asuka snapped as she stepped into the lobby's elevator, "I'm home. Go."

Rei shook her head as she stepped into the lift with her fellow pilot. "I was told to accompany you to your apartment."

The redhead growled in frustration and punched the wall as the door closed. "Since when has Hyuga been this anal?" she muttered to herself. She sharply jabbed the button for her floor with her finger and leaned against the wall, sulking, as the car began its ascent. "Maybe he sent someone from Section 2 to tail me, too." 

Rei ignored her and stared at the glowing numbers on the wall.

The elevator chimed as it reached its destination. The two pilots walked the short distance down the hall to the apartment shared by the Second and Third Children and came to a stop as they reached the end of the corridor. "Okay, now I'm really home." She turned to Rei and gestured at the entrance. "I am at. My. Door." She pointed at the apartment for emphasis with each word. "Now get out of here."

"If you wish." The First Child's expression was unreadable as she took one step backward.

Muttering, Asuka turned back to the door; it slid open automatically at her approach. She took a step into the darkened apartment, trailing her wheeled suitcase behind her. "I'm home," she called out of habit to no one in particular.

_Hey, wait a second. Why was it unlocked? Why is it so dark in-_

"SURPRISE!"

Asuka jumped as the lights suddenly came on. A camera flashed in her face as she stared, wide-eyed and speechless, at the spectacle before her.

Over a dozen people--including Shinji, Hikari, Touji, several NERV officers, most of the bridge crew, and Pen-pen--were crowded in the apartment, laughing; a large banner with the words, "Welcome Back Asuka" hung proudly from the ceiling. Streamers and bunches of helium-filled balloons were scattered everywhere; the kitchen table groaned under the weight of food, drinks, and a large cake.

"You... guys..." was all Asuka could stammer when she finally found her voice. After a second, she spun around. "_You!_" she shouted at Rei and  pointed an accusing finger at her. "You were in on this too, weren't you?" 

Rei's face was her usual, impassive mask, but for an instant Asuka thought she saw something different about it. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but there might have been a faint twinkle in her ruby eyes.

_Was she actually _enjoying_ this? _The very thought of Rei enjoying anything was so absurd that she immediately pushed the thought from her mind. 

"Do you still wish for me to leave?" the First Child asked meekly. Surprisingly, Asuka could hear her over the noise coming from inside the apartment.

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Oh, for-"

"Hey, you two," Hikari cried, her freckled face beaming with excitement as she grabbed her ex-classmates' wrists and pulled both girls into the kitchen. "Get in here!"

* * *

The First Child sat on one of the lawn chairs on the apartment's balcony and ignored the sounds of the party inside. An untouched glass of iced tea sat on a table next to her; beads of condensation traced winding paths down the moist side of the glass to pool on the plastic tabletop. As she watched the sun sink in the west, its amber rays reflected off her alabaster skin and gave it a faint glow. Near the horizon, the sky was already turning red at the approach of twilight.

_Red. The__ color of blood._

Images flashed across her mind's eye as she sat there, lost in her thoughts. Commander Ikari's body lay in Terminal Dogma, a pool of blood under his body; the sticky fluid smeared onto her hands as she picked up his glasses. Red liquid washed over the streets as Unit 01 tore Unit 03 apart. Her own blood stained her pillows and the discarded bandages that lay in the cardboard box by her bed. Gore dripped from Unit 01 as it clawed its way out of the Twelfth Angel's shadow floating above the city.

_The color of destruction._

Klaxons blared as crimson alerts flashed across the command center's viewscreens; they flashed on her entry plug's console as Unit 00 went berserk beneath her. The melting shield in front of her glowed with a hellish ruddy light as she protected Unit 01 from the Fifth Angel. The jewel-like core of the Fourteenth Angel blinked shut as she slammed the N2 mine against it, a split-second before she was consumed in an orange-red fireball. A similar firestorm engulfed the Matsushiro test facility. Red-tinged explosions erupted around the city as Unit 02 blindly fired its positron rifle.

_The color of my eyes._

She stood in front of her mirror and removed the bandages around her head to reveal two scarlet eyes that blinked back at her. The two previous vessels of her soul looked back at her in her dream. Lilith commanded her to come home as it stared at her with the same crimson orbs. Dozens of those unearthly eyes stared at her from within the lab in Terminal Dogma.

_The color I hate._

"Oh. It's _you,_" snarled the pilot of Unit 02. "You're a toy, just like I thought! You're an unthinking, emotionless doll and I hate you!" Copper hair swirled in front of her face before she felt the stinging pain on her cheek. "Now get out of here."

_Why do you hate me, pilot Sohryu? What did I do to deserve it?_

"That little _bitch_ rescued me! I'd rather have died!" the Second Child moaned as Unit 00 hurled the Lance of Longinus into the sky; the storm clouds parted in the ancient weapon's wake.

_I sense your pain. I wish to help you, but... I do not know what to do or what to say..._

"Why don't you try smiling?" asked the Third Child. His tear-streaked face smiled at her from the hatch of Unit 00's entry plug. 

_Ikari. You showed genuine concern for me before..._

He picked up her bandaged body in the Eva cage, trying to comfort her as the girders fell around them during the Third Angel's attack. "Ayanami!" his voice echoed in the hospital's hallway. "I'm glad you're alive..."

"Th-thank you," she replied in her tidied apartment.

_Now you avoid me. Why? Do you hate me as well?_

_You and the Soul are my reasons for existence now that Commander Ikari is gone. _

"You care about Shinji, don't you?" asked Suzuhara as he leaned against the balcony on the school's rooftop.

_I... I do not wish to be alone..._

Rei was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the sounds of the patio door sliding open or the approaching footsteps until a voice came from right beside her.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

Startled, Rei turned her head; her gaze met Maya Ibuki's brown eyes. The petite woman stood next to the empty lounge chair beside her. In one hand she balanced two paper plates, each holding a piece of cake and a plastic fork; her other hand held a glass of soda and some napkins. The First Child shook her head. "It is available," she replied.

Maya set the plates down on the table next to her chair as she sat and offered a piece of cake to Rei. "I thought you might want a piece before the others eat it all." She smiled and wiggled the plate invitingly as the blue-haired girl hesitated. "Oh, come on. It has chocolate in it. It'll do you good, trust me." 

As Rei reluctantly took the plate, the brunette took a forkful of her own cake and popped it into her mouth. She closed her eyes, savoring the combination of the chocolate's rich bitterness, the tart cherries, and the icing's sugary sweetness. When she opened her eyes again, she looked over at Rei and noticed the untouched plate on her lap; she had gone back to watching the sunset again. Maya frowned as she put her fork down and wiped the crumbs from her mouth with a napkin.

"Rei?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" The young pilot kept staring at the city's blasted skyline.

"Are you all right?"

The chirping cicadas played a shrill counterpoint to the voices from inside the apartment as an awkward silence hung in the air between the two women. "Why do you ask?" Rei finally inquired.

"It's part of my job," she replied matter-of-factly, then paused; her expression became serious. "And, well, to be honest, I'm concerned about you."

The pale girl didn't even blink. "Why?"

"It just doesn't seem right for our partner in crime to be out here by herself all day at a time like this." As if on cue, a muffled peal of laughter came though the closed patio door.

"I am uncomfortable around people," Rei replied simply; her gaze never left the horizon.

Maya looked at her, confused. "If these situations make you uncomfortable, then why did you agree to set Asuka up for us?"

"Captain Hyuga asked me to."

"You could have said no if you didn't want to, you know."

Rei shrugged. "A request from a superior officer is usually considered an order."

Maya sighed and gestured at the plate on Rei's lap. "You also haven't touched your cake."

"I am not hungry."

The technician shook her head. "I've never known a woman to refuse anything with chocolate unless there's something seriously wrong, even if she wasn't hungry."

"Perhaps I do not like chocolate."

_Unlikely_, Maya thought. The brunette let out an exasperated sigh under her breath as she rubbed her temples. "Call it a woman's intuition, then."

Rei opened her mouth to reply, hesitated, then closed it again. She tore her gaze from the setting sun and looked at Maya with her crimson eyes. After a moment, she looked down at the patio floor. "Your intuition is... correct," she said quietly.

_Aha._ NERV's head technician smiled warmly. "Want to talk about it?"

The First Child blushed slightly, still staring at her feet. "It is..." she hesitated. "A personal matter."

Maya nodded, understanding. "Ah. One of _those._" She took a sip of her soda. "You know, Rei, keeping these feelings inside you can adversely affect your performance inside Eva like it did with Asuka. As one of your superior officers, I could order you to tell me what's troubling you..."

Rei looked up and saw the stern expression on Maya's face. The pilot opened her mouth and was about to speak-

"...but as someone more concerned about your well-being than your performance, I'm asking you to eat your cake and try and relax for now," the brunette finished. The firm look on her features was replaced by a caring smile.

Rei gazed at the cake on her lap and gingerly picked up the plastic fork. "But..."

"Uh-uh. Doctor's orders." Maya said with a grin.

Hesitantly, the blue-haired girl took a bite of the cake; her eyes closed as the flavors danced in her mouth while she chewed.

"There. Feeling better?" asked the technician as Rei finished the chocolaty mouthful.

"Yes," Rei replied, almost awestruck, as she opened her eyes. "I was not aware that a piece of cake could affect me this way."

Maya chuckled. "Just wait till you try cheesecake..."

* * *

A tiny explosion, followed by a brief crinkling noise, shattered the silence in the now-deserted apartment. Another one occurred several seconds later, followed again by more rustling. The sequence repeated itself a dozen times or so until the redheaded girl seated at the kitchen table couldn't take anymore. "Knock it off, idiot!" she shouted.

The rustling stopped. Shinji appeared in the entrance to the living room; he held a trash bag in one hand and an unpopped balloon in another. "Sorry," he replied, "I was just cleaning up..."

"What are you, stupid?" Asuka asked. She linked her fingers together and raised her arms above her head in a catlike stretch. "Can't it wait till tomorrow? I just want to relax now that it's finally quiet around here."

Shinji looked crestfallen. "I guess..." He disappeared into the living room again.

"Good boy," she said, satisfied. "Say, is there any of that cake left?"

"I saved you an extra piece." The crinkling sounds continued from the living room, quieter this time. "It should be in the fridge."

Asuka stood up, walked the short distance to the refrigerator, and cursed at a curled piece of ribbon that dared attach itself to the sole of her bare foot. After a little rummaging, she triumphantly returned to the table with her prize and a glass of soda; she tossed both the plastic wrap and her foot's brightly colored hitchhiker into the garbage before she sat back down. Shinji walked past the table from the living room a minute later, carrying yet another bag of trash. He tied the bag off, set it down by the apartment's entrance, then watched the Second Child with a pained expression on his face while she ate.

"Asuka..." he finally said, softly.

"Mmm?" she absently mumbled through a mouthful of cake.

"Asuka, I... I'm sorry."

The redhead nearly choked at Shinji's apology. She quickly grabbed her soda and washed the cake down with it before she stared at him in disbelief. "You really _are_ an idiot, aren't you?"

Shinji looked back, surprised. "W-what do you mean by that?"

Asuka rolled her eyes and shook her head slowly as she set her plate and glass down on the table. "You're the only one I know who apologizes to someone for throwing them a party."

The Third Child blinked. "Uh, um, no. That's not what I meant." He swallowed nervously; his right hand started to twitch again. "I- I mean... I'm sorry about your... your..." He gestured lamely to his face.

"What, this?" Asuka held up her forearm for him to see; the fresh, glossy scars from the line of stitches that ran down her arm stood out angrily against her creamy skin. "And this?" She tapped the shield over her left eye with her fingernail.

Shinji gulped and nodded "A-after all," he stammered, "If... if I had launched sooner and helped-"

Asuka's good eye flashed. "You know what?" she growled menacingly; she pushed her chair away from the table, stood up and took a step toward her roommate.

"W-what?" he asked nervously as he backed away.

Asuka took two more steps forward and quickly closed the distance between them. Shinji took one back--and found himself pinned against the refrigerator door. She placed her good hand up on the fridge next to his right ear and leaned forward to come face-to-face with the frantic young man. The combination of adrenaline and the sweet smells of chocolate and Asuka's shampoo made it difficult to think; a stray strand of her auburn hair tickled his nose. Shinji tensed and squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of the inevitable verbal assault as she took a deep breath...

"It wasn't your fault."

Shinji's eyes opened in surprise. He looked at Asuka's face and blinked. "R-really? I-"

"Let me finish, _Dummkopf_."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Asuka sighed. "Anyway, I read the debriefing while I was in the hospital. Your Eva was in cryostasis and up to its ears in crystallized bakelite. Hyuga said it was a miracle you were able to launch at all when you did. So this," she pointed to the shield on her face, "was _not_ your fault."

"But-"

Asuka shook her head in disbelief. "Shinji, are you always this stupid or do you have to work at it?"

"No, but-"

"Look, did you throw that spear at my Unit 02?"

"Of course not!"

"Did you command those Evas to attack?"

Shinji shook his head.

"Then stop being so pathetic. You didn't do this to me; those bastards did. End of story."

A look of confusion crossed Shinji's face. "Then why are you so-"

"Angry?" she snarled through gritted teeth. "I'll tell you why, you poor excuse for an insensitive jerk. I'm mad because you visited me in my hospital room just once after the battle, and you didn't speak to me at all during the memorial service last week. You've been avoiding me this past month, and I want to know _why_."

Shinji's mind raced as he tried to come up with a plausible answer to her demand. "W-well," he stammered, "I... I've been on standby ever since the attack and-"

"Bzzt!" Asuka flicked the tip of Shinji's nose with her finger; his eyes watered for a second from the brief pain. "Wrong answer. Headquarters stood down from first-stage alert two weeks ago. Even if you were on standby, it doesn't take a lot of time to get back to the Eva cages from the hospital wing." She scowled at the boy in front of her. "Now try again, and this time try and make your excuse believable."

Shinji's hand flexed rhythmically. He looked away, avoiding the piercing gaze of the Second Child's good eye, and mumbled something.

"Pardon me?" Asuka said. "I didn't catch that."

Shinji stared silently at the floor, ignoring her.

Asuka growled in exasperation. "Look, idiot. The longer you take, the harder I'm going to make it on you. So if you don't want to get me _really_ ticked off," she shook her fist in his face for emphasis, "you'd better give me an answer. Now. 'Cause I'm not letting you go until you do."

Shinji's clenched his fist as he felt the heat rising in his face. A flush crept up his neck and to his ears. He opened his mouth to say something, uttered a strangled squeak, then closed it with a snap. He tried again, only to stammer something unintelligible before giving up. Finally, he took a deep breath and tried a third time.

"I... I don't want to see you hurt again," he managed to whisper.

Asuka's eye widened for a brief instant, then narrowed. "Explain."

Shinji sighed and seemed to sink a little into the wall. "Everyone I've been close to since I came here--you; Touji; Misato; Kowaru; Ayanami... They've all been hurt, or worse..." he shook his head, then raised his gaze to look his roommate in the eye. "I'm cursed, don't you see? And I can't bear the thought of hurting you or anyone else anymore." His dark blue eyes flashed with grief and anguish. "You'd be better off if you just left me _alone!_" With that, he angrily batted Asuka's left hand, the one she had been leaning on, away from his head.

The surprised redhead pitched forward with a gasp. Shinji realized what was about to happen and flinched, turning his face away from the expected impact. Asuka's soft lips grazed his cheek as she landed awkwardly against him; her head came to rest against his shoulder. The two teenagers stayed there, their bodies pressed against each other, unmoving, for a moment that seemed much, much longer.

Asuka's eye widened in shock as she finally realized what had happened and what she was doing. "Gyah!" she shrieked as she pushed herself away from the fridge and the gasping boy beneath her. Her cheeks colored until they almost matched her hair as she glared at her roommate. "You... you... _pervert!_" she screamed. "You did that on purpose!"

"Sorry!" Shinji's face flushed with embarrassment as he caught his breath, his earlier self-pity forgotten in the panic of the moment. Suddenly, the words of Asuka's accusation sank in; his anger made his face grow an even deeper shade of crimson. "Hey! You could have gotten up before, you know!" he said defensively. "You were on top of _me_!"

"Yeah? Well, if you didn't move my hand in the first place..." She threw her arms in the air. "Ah, why am I wasting my time arguing with you?" She spun on her heel and marched to the hallway to pick up her belongings. "I'm going to bed before you get any more ideas."

Shinji stood there, gaping; his fingers reached up to the spot on his cheek where her moist lips had gently touched him a minute before.

As Asuka bent down to pick up her suitcase, an unfamiliar feeling crept over her; for what seemed like the first time in ages, she felt a twinge of something in her conscience. _Way to go, _an inner voice scolded her. _Your stupid roommate just pulled out all the stops to throw you a party for your return from the hospital. He apologized for your injuries _again _even though it wasn't his fault, and you had to go and give him the third degree..._

"Shut up," she muttered to herself through gritted teeth.

_Who's the bigger idiot now?_

The redhead extended the handle on the suitcase and locked it into place with a soft click. She tilted the luggage until it balanced on its two small wheels, then walked to the entrance to her room. She stopped, paused, and took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Shinji...?" she called.

"Yes?" Asuka heard the faint clatter of dishes in the kitchen.

"I..." she hesitated; the words of gratitude stuck in her throat and died on her lips. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Silence filled the apartment once again as a long, awkward pause hung in the air. Then:

"Welcome home, Asuka."

Asuka couldn't see her roommate, but she could tell from the tone of his voice that he was smiling. The corners of her lips rose into a faint smile of her own as she led her wheeled suitcase into her room and closed the door.

* * *

In the next chapter of Exorcism:

The Children's lives slowly return to some sense of normalcy until Asuka is thrown 'Once More, Into the Breach.'

_A/N:_ This was originally going to be more of a light-hearted piece for a change of pace from the previous few chapters. Leave it to Rei's brooding to mess things up. ^_^ 

Speaking of Rei's flashbacks, the idea came to me as I was prereading the first chapter of Rob Lindsay's 'Harbinger'; thanks for the inspiration, Rob. Speaking of which, I'd like to officially welcome him aboard my preread team.

The 'girl talk' idea between Rei and Maya came from my wife, who gave me a similar reaction as the two of them did over their cake when we went out for dinner a few nights ago. Funny how chocolate can affect women, _ne_?

Anyway, that's another chapter down. Thank you for taking the time to read it! If you have any comments, criticism, or suggestions, post a review or email me at akodo_tim1@yahoo.com. Keep the C&C coming so I can get an idea where to take this!__

[09-03-2003]


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